Screens

Summary

Until Dawn attracted its fair share of praise. Even among those who found fault with it, there was a general acceptance that Supermassive Games had created something deeply compelling in the realm of cinematic, very narrative-focused games (it is, it has to be said, an underpopulated realm). It's a happy day, then, when the studio finally releases the first title of its follow-up anthology series - The Dark Pictures: Man Of Medan.

It's not a sequel, but it very much builds on the successes of Until Dawn - a winding tale that has you pick your own narrative line through a very deadly horror story. The game follows four teens and the captain of the boat they've hired on a trip to the rumoured site of a sunk WWII ship. When a boat full of pirates show up with a storm hot on their tail, you need to guide one of the characters through a series of events that promises life-changing decisions and supernatural horror. If one of the characters dies as a result of your decisions, they're dead. But each character is playable and has their own storyline, so you could always try again from another point of view.

Things get particularly interesting with multiplayer modes. Play online with a friend, or offline in 'movie night' mode, which has you each taking a character and passing the pad. Will you co-operate, or will you try to maximise your own chances of survival, potentially at the expense of your friends? Your choices might well haunt you...